The Fire of the Dragomir
by MrsOzera
Summary: Set After Last Sacrifice. When Queen Vasilisa Dragomir gets Marked, her whole world gets turned upside down. Through trusting in Nyx and fighting the evil of this world, Lissa uncovers the strength within herself and the fire she never thought she had. (Contains spoilers from Vampire Academy & House of Night series). (I do NOT own the cover image - courtesy of Google Images)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I woke up to the sound of a pulse in my own ears. A slight pressure had also been building up behind my eyes which I had not been too unfamiliar with lately.

The last couple of days had been extremely stressful for me, what with me being crowned as queen of the whole Moroi race, Rose and I suddenly having to deal with our bond being gone, and Adrian's constant sulking. I knew that he was going through a difficult time getting over Rose, and of course I sympathized with him, but since he didn't have the courage of facing _her _anymore, he seemed to be taking the liberty of following me around with a bottle of alcohol when Rose wasn't there, which had started to become slightly aggravating.

I sat up in bed, feeling the sudden rush to my head whch signalled the beginning to my now daily headache that only seemed to start when I decided to lift my head from the pillow. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the pain to disappear.

Suddenly I felt a soft hand on my bare arms. _Christian. _I shivered.

"Liss?" I heard his husky voice next to mine, and I could tell he had just woken up, "are you alright?"

Hearing that soft, caring voice instantly made my heart beat faster and a reluctant smile spread across my face.

"I'm fine," I turned to face him, and planted a tiny kiss on his forehead, "don't you worry about me."

I knew Christian was still concerned about the events that had happened to me on the day I was proclaimed queen. Seeing Rose shot and fall to the ground had probably been the most horrible experience in my life, one I feared I would never properly recover from, even though she had survived. Of course, I knew that guardians had to deal with near-death experiences and fighting death all the time, but it was still too painful to deal with the fact that Rose could have been _dead_. And for good this time.

"You need to rest." Christian told me and pushed himself up by his elbows. His black hair fell forward, and he flicked it back to stop it from falling in his eyes. I reached forward and ran my fingers through his silky, soft hair which I so loved.

"I can't sleep," I murmured as my fingers continued to tease his hair strands, "I just haven't been feeling very well recently, I keep getting headaches and I've got this annoying cough." I made a face.

Christian's face softened and he took hold of my hand, rubbing soft circles over my fingers and I sighed in bliss.

"This week has been really hard on you." He didn't formulate it as a question, but I nodded and leaned my head on his chest as his arm went around my shoulder. For just one moment I closed my eyes and let Christian's faith and love in me wash over my worries and despair. After our silent moment ended, I sighed and quickly slipped out of Christian's arm.

"I've got some queenly duties to pursue," I told him with a grimace as I slid out of my nightgown, "Today is the day I need to choose another royal advisor."

I was _really _not looking forward to that. In my heart, Rose would forever and always be my true consultant, but as a dhampir - and a full-fledged_ guardian_ at that - Rose didn't qualify at taking the job that only a royal could.

It took me a while to get dressed. For most of my life, dressing up to impress was a big part of my life. I dealt with royals on an almost daily basis, but now I was _queen_,and that was a whole new territory, even for someone like me, who had been brought up in this world. In that split second, I suddenly envied Rose and her liberty of doing things _her _way.

The last five days had been mostly protocol, meeting up with different royal families, and attending parties in honor of my coronation, but today, the real work began. I carefully picked out a royal blue pencil skirt which hugged my narrow hips along with a short-sleeved white silk shirt, which I adorned with a silver pendant necklace which held a small white pearl on the end. I grabbed my brush from the dressing table and combed out the tangles in my platinum blond hair, put on a thin coat of mascara and dabbed on a bit of cherry lipgloss. I then paused, and just stared at the white-gold crown that lay on a red velvet cushion on the table. It had beautiful shining emeralds and diamonds weaved into it, and sparkled at every slight turn. Was I expected to wear it? Maybe if I just ignored the crown, then all the responsibilities that came along with it would just fade away.

In the end, I decided to wear it after all, and pushed it gingerly up into my hair, until it nestled safely between my hair.

I felt as Christian came up from behind me and put his arms around my waist, holding tight.

"You look beautiful." He murmured into my ear and I felt a surge of confidence blossom up in my heart. My day already felt a whole lot better.

"Thank you." I whispered back, and with my head held high, I walked over to the windows, and with both of my hands pushed the curtains aside, "Let's get this day over with."

Walking steadily down the palace's elaborate corridor, Christian fall into step behind me and he reached over and gently held onto my hand.

Even after five days, I still wasn't used to every person in the hallways bowing and curtseying to me. At times, I even heard some of the staff whisper "Queen Dragomir" as I passed. I nodded respectfully back at them and then hurried toward the palace's parlor where I was supposed to conduct most of the royal businesses from now on. This was also the place where Queen Tatiana had - before her death - proposed an offer about me attending Lehigh University. Her death had been quite a shock for me - along with the whole Moroi race - and seeing the parlor empty and deprived of her presence still seemed to unsettle me. What unnerved me even more though, was that the beautiful armchair that was set in the middle of the circular room was prepared for _me_.

As I entered, all the guardians in the room, along with the dhampirs that took up stealthy positions beside the open archway that led to the parlor, bowed to me.

I smiled graciously at all of them in turn and they all rose in unison. That's when I acknowledged two familiar faces that were already in the room; they were sitting on the small love seat that was placed next to the armchair, and rose together as I arrived. Rose was one of them, looking incredibly lethal in her new black and white guardian attire, with her silver stake hooked firmly in the belt at her waist.

"Sydney?" My small smile turned into a genuine grin as I took in the other girl, with her dark blonde hair and golden lily tattoo that rested permanently on her cheek.

Rose had filled me in on Sydney's role in her major plan and I had begun to find myself growing fond of the young Alchemist. I quickly checked whether any of her superiors were around and gave Sydney a quick one-armed hug. Alchemist's weren't all too fond of their kind being too intimate with our race and I definitely didn't want to get her in any more trouble than she already was.

"Your Majesty." She replied stiffly, pulling out of the hug almost immediately, and looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Please," I said, "no need for such formalities. What are you doing here?" I asked curiously.

"I am going to be returning home soon," she replied, and her smile suddenly dropped, as if the idea of where ever she was returning to wasn't too pleasant. "I just wanted to say my goodbyes formally. I've already said bye to Rose," she indicated over to my best friend who openly grinned back at her, "but I thought it would only be polite to do the same to you."

"Thank you for everything that you have done for us." I replied kindly, genuinely meaning the words that came out of my mouth. "I don't think Rose could have managed half of what she did without you."

Sydney smiled tentatively, "I'm glad I could help."

I knew she meant the words, but I also knew that she was terrified of her Alchemist superiors and therefore couldn't properly accept my gratitude.

"Just know that you are welcome to stay at the Royal Court whenever you wish. And if there's anything you need us to do, just ask." I smiled at her.

"Thanks," she replied again, "I think I've got everything I need at the moment, though."

"Let me at least walk you out," I offered, "I've still got a lot of business to conduct today, but it shouldn't take too long."

Rose and Sydney both smiled sympathetically at me as I mentioned my businesses. They both knew and understood my uneasiness and anxiety at being queen.

_Not that it changes anything, _I thought bitterly to myself.

We moved toward the main doors that led directly from the parlor to the outside terrain. Two guardians that were lining the walls immediately followed suit and me, Rose, Sydney and Christian all began walking.

"Liss, you are okay, aren't you?" Rose whispered over to me, a mixture of concern and worry filling her voice, "I'm always here for you. Always by your side."

"I know you are." I replied, and pushed open the double doors into a beautiful Pennsylvanian sunset. Since our vampiric schedule ran nocturnally, the beginning of our 'day' was what regular humans would have considered evening.

Court had definitely cleared out in the last couple of days. Right after the coronation, a chaos of people broke out, and crowds of people had been shouting my name for a full two days, all caught up in the excitement of a new queen being elected. Some people were especially passionate, because I had been the youngest queen in Moroi history since Alexandra who had lived centuries before me. My age had created a major division between the Moroi and their opinions, and whilst most of the Moroi were glad that I was their new ruler, some had been objecting profusely, and even publicly at times, which just brought upon me an even bigger feeling of insecurity. Today, thankfully, there were few people milling around, and only a handful turned to stare at my approach.

We all walked in silence for a while, and as we finally approached the main Court gate, Sydney turned to face all of us.

"Thank you for you hospitality, and good luck with your duties," She smiled at both me and Rose, and gave me a quick curtsey.

We watched as she ran off towards a black idling car, which had already honked once to grab Sydney's attention. As she threw her head over her shoulder one last time, she suddenly stopped her pace and stared behind us.

I turned around, puzzled, and suddenly there _he _was. Of course, I had no idea who _he _was exactly; I had certainly never seen his face in my life. He had thick, curly brown hair that hung down both sides of his face, and piercing green eyes that seemed to look right through me. The most peculiar thing, however, was the sapphire crescent shaped moon that was situated on his forehead, along with some other designs that flourished around it.

I could hear Sydney's intake in breath, but before I had any chance to turn around and ask whether she knew this stranger, _he _leaned forward, with one finger outstretched and in a loud, commanding voice filled with power, said:

"_Vasilisa Sabina Rhea Dragomir! Night has chosen thee: thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee, hearken to Her sweet voice .Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!"_

I opened my mouth in surprise, and was about to address this man, when suddenly a white spark emerged from his pointing fingertip, blinding me and burning my forehead. Sinking to my knees in pain, I wrapped my hands across my face and let myself fall to the ground as I screamed and instantly blacked out.


	2. Note on Upcoming Chapter Two

Hey guys :)

I'm really sorry I haven't had the chance to continue on in my story - don't worry, I haven't forgotten! Just so you know, I am right in the middle of my exam week - and with these being the second most important exams in my graduating year, I am super busy at the moment, and I will continue writing when I finish, or if I become especially inspired this week, I might write more.

xxxx


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